UnitedHealthcare is planning to participate in the ACA insurance exchanges in 7 new states:
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas. This will bring its total ACA marketplace footprint to 18 states.
UnitedHealthcare is planning to nearly double its footprint with regard to states where it offers Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based health insurance giant has filed — and is awaiting approval from regulators — to participate in the ACA insurance exchanges in seven new states. This will bring the total number of states in which UnitedHealthcare offers exchange plans to 18.
Specifically, the payer is looking to expand into ACA marketplaces in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas for plan year 2022. UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, has been gradually expanding its operations in the ACA marketplaces since it exited most state exchanges in 2017.
2021 has been an important year for the ACA. Not only did the Supreme Court uphold the healthcare law, but marketplace enrollment also topped 12 million, up from about 8 million in 2014, according to data from Kaiser Family Foundation.
Enrollment received a significant boost from administration’s commitment to bolstering the ACA. About 2.5 million people signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces during a special enrollment period, which enabled uninsured people to get insurance amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic between February 15th and August 15th.
